I have these sunflowers in my front yard that bring me so much joy. They grew from seeds that fell from flowers I planted last year, and they have taken over the corner of my front garden. They loom over the sidewalk and are over 7 feet tall. 

Last week I wanted to bring their beauty inside, so I cut 2 of them and placed them in water in a little, white and cream, speckled, clay vase I bought from a local pottery studio. I put the vase in my kitchen, by the sink, in front of a window. Yesterday I was looking at the flowers and was shocked to find one flower still looking full of color and life and the other looking completely wilted and dead. I studied them for a minute, and then I realized: the only difference between the two is that the flourishing one was facing the sun and the other was turned away from it.

What a poignant reminder this was to me to always turn towards the life-giving warmth and light of the God who sustains me and allows me to flourish.